Inupiaq phonology
Iñupiaq dialects differ widely between consonants used. However, consonant clusters are always limited to exactly two consonants in a row. A word may not begin nor end with a consonant cluster. All Iñupiaq dialects have three basic vowels: a, i, and u''. It is unclear how these sounds are exactly pronounced and which, if any, allophones exist. All three vowels can be duplicated: ''aa, ii, uu. It is likewise unclear how these vowels are pronounced, though this most likely signifies that the vowels are pronounced longer. The following diphthongs can be found: ai, ia, au, ua, iu, ui. A vowel cluster consists of exactly two vowels, no more than two vowels can appear together. The Bering strait dialect preserves the fourth proto-Eskimo vowel e'', pronounced /ə/ in proto-Eskimo . In the other dialects, the proto-Eskimo ''e merged with the closed front vowel i''. The merged ''i is referred to as the strong i'', and causes palatalization when preceding consonant clusters in the North Slope dialect (see section on palatalization below). The other ''i is referred to as the weak i''. The weak and strong ''i are not differentiated in orthography, therefore it is impossible to tell which i'' will cause palatalization "short of looking at other processes which depend on the distinction between two i's or else examining data from other Eskimo languages". However, it can be assumed that, within a word, if a palatal consonant is preceded by an ''i, the i'' is strong. If an alveolar consonant is preceded by an ''i, the i'' is weak. A word may only begin with a stop (excluding palatal stops), s, y, m, n, or a vowel—with the exception of foreign loan words, proper names, and exclamations. This applies to both the Seward Peninsula dialects (using the Little Diomede Island sub-dialect as a representative example) and the North Slope dialects. The only exception is Uummarmiutun, which can have a word begin with an /h/. For example the word for "ear" in North Slope and Little Diomede Island dialects is "siun" whereas in Uummarmiutun it is "hiun". A word may end in any nasal sound (except for the /ɴ/ found in North Slope), in the stops t, k, q, or in a vowel. In the North Slope dialect if a word ends with an m, and the next word begins with a stop, the m is pronounced /p/. For Example: aġnam tupiŋa is read /aʁnap tupiŋa/ (IPA for vowels may be incorrect). Very little information of the prosody of Iñupiaq can be found. However, "fundamental frequency (Hz), intensity (dB), loudness (sones), and spectral tilt (phons - dB) may be important" in Malimiutun. Likewise, "duration is not likely to be important in Malimiut Iñupiaq stress/syllable prominence". Please note, all ambiguities listed below exist because sources are inconsistent in reporting phonology. The phonological inventory was pieced together using multiple sources. Any discrepancies between the sources are marked as ambiguities. Ambiguities do not represent dialectal differentiation or different allophones. North Slope Iñupiaq: The voiceless stops /p/ /t/ /k/ and /q/ are not aspirated. This may or may not be true for other dialects as well. * The sound might actually be the sound . The sound might not exist. Recent learners of the language, and heritage speakers are replacing the sound (written in Iñupiaq as "r") with the American English /ɹ/ sound. /c/ is derived from a palatalized and unreleased /t/. Assimilation: Two consonants cannot appear together unless they share the manner of articulation (in this case treating the lateral and approximate consonants as fricatives). The only exception to this rule is having a voiced fricative consonant appear with a nasal consonant. Since all stops in North Slope are voiceless, a lot of needed assimilation arises from having to assimilate a voiceless stop to a voiced consonant. This process is realized by assimilating the first consonant in the cluster to a consonant that: 1) has the same (or closest possible) area of articulation as the consonant being assimilated; and 2) has the same manner of articulation as the second consonant that it is assimilating to. If the second consonant is a lateral or approximate, the first consonant will assimilate to a lateral or approximate if possible. If not the first consonant will assimilate to a fricative. Therefore: * The sound /ɴ/ is not represented in the orthography. Therefore the spelling 'ġn''' can be pronounced as /ʁn/ or /ɴn/. In both examples 1 and 2, since voiced fricatives can appear with nasal consonants, both consonant clusters are possible. The stops /t̚ʲ/ and /t/ do not have a corresponding voiced fricative, therefore they will assimilate to the closest possible area of articulation. In this case, the /t̚ʲ/ will assimilate to the voiced approximant /j/. The /t/ will assimilate into a . Therefore: In the case of the second consonant being a lateral, the lateral will again be treated as a fricative. Therefore: Since voiced fricatives can appear with nasal consonants, both consonant clusters are possible. The sounds and are not represented in the orthography (unless they occur alone between vowels). Therefore, like the /ɴn/ example shown above, assimilation still occurs while the spelling remains the same. Therefore: These general features of assimilation are not shared with Uummarmiut, Malimiutun, or the Seward Peninsula dialects. Malimiutun and the Seward Peninsula dialects "preserve[] voiceless stops (k, p, q, t) when they are etymological (i.e. when they belong to the original word-base)". Compare: Palatalization The following patterns of palatalization can occur in North Slope Iñupiaq: /t/ → /t̚ʲ/ or /s/; → ; → ; and /n/ → . Palatalization only occurs when one of these four alveolars is proceeded by a strong i''. Compare: Please note that the sound /it̚ʲ/ does not have its own letter, and is simply spelled with a T t. The IPA transcription of the above vowels may be incorrect. If a t that proceeds a vowel is palatalized, it will become an /s/. The strong ''i affects the entire consonant cluster, palatalizing all consonants that can be palatalized within the cluster. Therefore: Note in the first example, due to the nature of the suffix, the /q/ is dropped. Like the first set of examples, the IPA transcriptions of above vowels may be incorrect. If a strong i'' precedes geminate consonant, the entire elongated consonant becomes palatalized. For Example: niġ'ḷḷ'aturuq and tiki'ññ'iaqtuq. Further strong versus weak ''i processes The strong i'' can be paired with a vowel. The weak ''i on the other hand cannot. The weak i will become an a'' if it is paired with another vowel, or if the consonant before the ''i becomes geminate. This rule may or may not apply to other dialects. Therefore: Like the first two sets of examples, the IPA transcriptions of above vowels may be incorrect. Uummarmiutun Sub-Dialect: * Ambiguities: This sound might exist in the Uummarmiutun sub dialect. Phonological Rules The /f/ is always found as a geminate. The /j/ cannot be geminated, and is always found between vowels or proceeded by /v/. In rare cases it can be found at the beginning of a word. The /h/ is never geminate, and can appear as the first letter of the word, between vowels, or preceded by /k/ /ɬ/ or /q/. The and are always geminate or preceded by a /t/. The can appear between vowels, preceded by consonants /k/ /q/ /t/ or /v/, or it can be followed by , /v/, . Seward Peninsula Iñupiaq: Unlike the other Iñupiaq dialects, the Seward Peninsula dialect has a mid central vowel e (see the beginning of the phonology section for more information). Gemination In North Slope Iñupiaq, all consonants represented by orthography can be geminated, except for the sounds /s/ /h/ and . Seward Peninsula Iñupiaq (using vocabulary from the Little Diomede Island as a representative sample) likewise can have all consonants represented by orthography appear as geminates, except for /b/ /h/ /w/ /z/ and . Gemination is caused by suffixes being added to a consonant, so that the consonant is found between two vowels. External links * Category:Language phonologies